Misfortunes
by Stripy sox roc
Summary: Everything's going smoothly, until one phonecall changes it all. Housecam Sequel to Misinterpretation.
1. Chapter 1

This is the sequel to Misinterpretation, and I'm afarid it won't make much sense if you haven't read the first one. But that is a problem easily solved, just click on my name, and you will find alost of all the stories I've written, then read the first one. Simple, huh?

I put humour/romance as the genre but it's more humour/romance/drama, and will hopefully be funnier, and more exciting than the last one!

Enjoy!

* * *

The morning after 'seducing' Wilson, Dan had packed up and left without saying good-bye. It had been two months since then, and Dr. Alison Cameron couldn't help but be glad.

Other than that, almost nothing had changed. Although her and House were officially together, he still refused to go on an actual date, claiming that he and fancy restaurants didn't mix, and he therefore preferred staying in with take-out food, and rental DVD's. He also had yet to say a single thing that even hinted towards the fact that he liked Cameron, and enjoyed spending time with her. But that was to be expected.

The side effects of Dan's drugs, meant that Wilson remembered almost nothing of that night, and it was relatively easy to keep their relationship, between the two of them.

There had been a few minor mishaps (including the time Cameron referred to House as 'Greg' in front of the other ducklings.) but so far everything was going smoothly.

Cameron had just finished up in the lab, when Chase entered.

"House wants you, in his office. He seems annoyed, something about people phoning his office and not wanting to speak to him!" He said, looking very grateful to have found an opportunity to escape.

Cameron, on the other hand, smirked. It was a new game of House's, since Cuddy had confiscated all his toys. It was quite simple really; he was just seeing how many times he could send Chase or Foreman to find her, with increasingly stupid reasons, before they became suspicious. She left Chase to clean up what she had been doing, and hurried towards her boss' office, eagerly anticipating what was going to happen. They both knew they couldn't spend too much alone time together at work, or someone would catch on. So she'd only stay long enough for a quick make-out session, and an even quicker making-up-duckling-worthy-excuses session, in case anyone questioned her. But despite the shortness, Cameron couldn't help but get excited whenever Chase or Foreman arrived with a summons.

"Took you sweet time, didn't you?" House asked when she arrived, "It's for you." He motioned at the phone with his cane.

Cameron was surprised her heart didn't pop out like a baby; it sunk so low when he said that.

"Hello?" She asked.

"Ally? Thank god! I've been trying to reach you all morning!"

It was Dan, and Cameron wasn't quite sure how she felt about that. On one hand, he was her not-quite-step-brother, and she loved him. But on the other, he was a clingy little dweeb who annoyed the hell out of her, and she was glad she hadn't heard from him in two months!

"Oh, hey Dan." She said his name for House's benefit, and he smirked, he'd already questioned Dan to try and find out why he was phoning.

"Uh huh, yeah, oh, yeah, uh huh, OK, bye! You too!" She hung up the phone, and sighed. House stared at her, waiting impatiently for an answer. When he didn't get one, he quipped.

"Your side of that conversation was so informative, I almost feel as if I were a part of it!"

Cameron rolled her eyes, something she found she did a lot more often now she'd started spending time with House. In fact, her eyeballs were starting to hurt a bit.

"If you don't stop doing that, your eyes are going to roll right out of their sockets, and I'm not going to be the one to pick them up, and give them back to you."

He'd noticed her little habit too! Cameron almost blushed, almost. She'd been getting better and better at controlling it after House had commented on it.

"It was Dan, he's got himself into a spot of bother, he's coming down tomorrow."

"Oh."

"Yes, oh,"

"Wilson will be pleased."

"Why will he?" Another voice had entered the conversation, Cameron and House spun around, moving apart slightly, to see Wilson standing in the doorway.

"Dan's coming to visit, on Friday." Cameron stuttered, giggling.

Wilson had not yet mastered the art of controlling his blushing, and turned bright red. House had informed him of some of what happened that night. Some of it.

"Oh." Was all he could say.

"Yes, oh." The other two replied in unison.


	2. Chapter 2

Very short chapter, but my first real cliffhanger! I'm so proud!

Enjoy!

* * *

It was a seven hour drive from Dan's home to Cameron's one in Princeton, and determined to get there early, Dan had gotten up long before strictly necessary. But it didn't matter; he had been awake even before his alarm clock was supposed to wake him. He never truly slept anymore, according to his stepsister, it was a side effect of stress, and she had prescribed him something for it. He never took it. He didn't like the idea of being drugged and completely unaware. What if something happened, and he didn't wake up?

He was starting to wish he had though; the months of sleepless nights were taking their tool. It had been OK when he'd been staying with Ally. They would stay up late, talking, laughing, watching films, and he'd drift of into a peaceful sleep easily. But lying in his own bed, thoughts plagued him; he couldn't help but dwell on his past, terrors haunting him, stopping him from moving forward. The insomnia had started with his divorce and gotten slowly worse. He was scared to shut his eyes at night.

Now things had taken a turn for the worst, and he needed to speak to Alison, he needed her help.

But he was oh, so tired. He was only a few miles from the hospital where she worked. He'd be able to sleep there. But his eyes were flickering shut. He knew he should pull over, but what good would come of it? He'd just have to call Alison to come and pick him up. No, he'd keep going until he reached the hospital. He was having a hard time concentrating, his eyelids felt heavy, He didn't know how long he'd been asleep for, but he was awoken by the loud horn of a truck, just before it slammed into his car. Then he was asleep again.


	3. Chapter 3

Come on people! Do you know how sad it makes me to open my emails and find I have only two reviews?

See, now I'm begging! How pathetic is that?

Kat x

* * *

Coffee machine to door. Coffee machine to door.

It had been an hour since Dan had phoned to say he was a few minutes away, and Cameron was worried.

Coffee machine to door. Coffee machine to door.

"Cameron! Sit down!"

"Cam, I'm sure he's fine, he probably just got side-tracked by a cute nurse downstairs! Calm down!"

But she wasn't going to calm down until she knew her not-quite-step-brother was safe.

Coffee machine to door. Coffee machine to door.

"Oh for Pete's sake! If you are going to pace, can't you at least make yourself useful, and bring me some coffee?" House decided that Foreman and Chase's reassurance-tact wasn't working and tried his own. Cameron shot him a dirty look. Apparently his wasn't either.

Coffee machine to door. Coffee machine to door.

The shrill ring of the telephone cut through the silence like a knife through cheese. Everyone froze, turning only his or her head towards the noisy contraption.

"See Cam, that's probably him to say he's going to be late!"

"Or to say he got side-tracked!"

"Or maybe it's an internal call from the ER?" House suggested, reading the caller ID.

Cameron darted forward to answer it.

"Hello?" She asked urgently.


	4. Chapter 4

Do be do be do.

Forth chapter.

Please review!

Kat xxx

* * *

"Hello?" came a voice at the other end, apparently shocked by the unprofessional way in which Cameron answered the phone. "Is there a Dr. Chase there please?" the voice asked.

Cameron breathed a sigh of relief; it wasn't to do with Dan. She passed the receiver over to the blond duckling, who had a short conversation, and hung up.

"Apparently they're short staffed in the ER, so I'm needed. Page me if you need me." He explained, heading off towards the elevators.

House sensed that all was still not well in the world of Cameron. She was clenching for one thing.

"So how about that coffee?"

He was awarded another dirty look, this time from Foreman; apparently the older-brother fixture was setting in.

"What if something happened to him? He phoned me to ask if he could come down because he was in trouble! What if that 'trouble' caught up with him? I mean, anything could have happened! What if he was mugged in the parking lot? What if he was walking towards the parking lot and an ambulance that was in a hurry hit him? What if he went into a shop to get some gum, and the store got held up? There are a lot of sickos out there!"

"What if?" House interrupted. "Wasn't that a song by Kate someone or other?" This gained him a dirty look from both Cameron and Foreman! He was on a roll!

"What if he was in an accident? What if a lunatic set a kangaroo free from the zoo, it hopped out into the road in front of him, he swerved to avoid it and hit a tree?" Cameron's rant was getting faster and more extreme.

"If that has happened, which it hasn't, but if it has, we'll blame Chase." Foreman joked, attempting to lighten the mood.

House studied Cameron's face in silence for a few moments before saying,

"I was wondering how far I'd have to push you before you cracked and got your own room on the 3rd floor. Now I've realized I don't need to push you at all, you already deserve one without any help from me!"

Yet again, House found himself on the receiving end of a double-dirty look from his two eldest ducklings. What, were they practicing for a marathon?

"But what if he was abducted by aliens?"

Meanwhile it was just as hectic down a few floors in the ER, it seemed that a man had fallen asleep at the wheel of his car and caused a 6 car pile up on the high way. Unfortunately many of the senior doctors from the ER had called in sick that day, and it had fallen upon Chase to be in charge.

And even more unfortunately, the man who came out of the crash the worst (the man who caused it) was in a coma, and as far as the nurses could tell, he had no living family. And since he didn't look like he was going to be awakening anytime soon, this was proving to be a problem.

"Dr. Chase!" A nurse (not Brenda, which was unlucky considering she was the only nurse whose name Chase had bothered to learn, other than the cute ones that it) called. "We've made contact with his ex-wife, but she wants nothing to do with it! She wouldn't even name a suitable proxy or relative!"

Chase sighed; things like this annoyed him. He became a doctor to help people, and cure them, not to deal with their legal problems.

"Show me to him." Chase instructed, it was highly unlikely, but maybe he would recognize that patient as a relative of someone he knew, and if not, maybe his visit would cause his family to magically appear. Looking down at the man on the bed, even the untrained eye would be able to see that this man was in a very, very bed way. Lucky to be alive even. He has at least 5 visibly broken bones, probably 4 fractures, and hundreds of cuts and bruises, including a large piece of metal sticking out of his thigh. Plus a trauma to the head that was the coma's most likely cause. He picked up the file from the end of the bed, it was devoid of a medical history, but a name had been found among the belongings of the victim, and it had been written along the top of the file. It seemed to jump out at the young intensivist, he swore under his breath.

"Daniel Cameron."


	5. Chapter 5

I just realized how behind I am, I'm up to chapter 8 on the House boards! Oops!

Anyway, enjoy!

xxx

* * *

Cameron was still pacing around the room and randomly spurting out increasingly absurd and morbid reasons as to why Dan was still not there, when her pager went off. Looking down at it, her already light complexion paled visibly, it was the ER. Either Chase needed an immunological consult, or Dan really had been hurt in someway. Praying to a God she'd been previously certain didn't exist; she dashed out of the room, opting to take the stairs rather than wait for an elevator.

Apparently she chose the slower of the two options as House was already waiting for her in the ER, either that, or he'd learnt to apparate.

"What's up?" he asked, grabbing her arm as she attempted to brush quickly past him. She considered pushing him off, but the concern in his eyes hit her so deep, she could practically feel herself melting.

"I got a page from the ER!" she was a mess, hyperventilating and sobbing at the same time, if she didn't calm down House wouldn't be surprised if she suffocated there and then.

"And?" Ever since he started dating her, he could have sworn his IQ level dropped by at least 10 points.

"It's Dan!"

And it dawned on him; Chase had been called down to help with the over-flow brought on by a huge car accident, on the road Dan would have been on. At least it explained where Dan was.

"OK, you don't know that for sure! Why don't you just calm down, and we'll go and see how he is?" If Gregory House had a weakness, he was sure comforting crying had to be it. He was terrible at it. He didn't like comforting, he didn't like crying women, put it together and what have you got? A recipe for disaster.

But Cameron nodded, sniffled a bit, and proceeded towards the nurse's station. Just before she reached it, Chase came skidding up.

"Cameron, you were…quick. I need to tell you something." Chase said hesitantly, he would have preferred to have anyone tell her but himself, but it seemed only fair since he knew her the best.

"It's Dan, isn't it? Something happened?" Cameron asked, anxious to get it over and done with. Once it was out in the open she wouldn't have to worry about worst-case scenarios, "Just, please, tell me he's alive!"

"He's alive, and stable." Chase answered immediately, Cameron was halfway through a loud sigh of relief when Chase continued talking "But he's in a bad way, and a coma." It wasn't the most sensitive way to tell her, but he figured she wouldn't want the sugarcoated version.

"I want to see him."

"Are you sure? It's not pretty." And it wasn't, his broken bones had been set, and the shrapnel removed from his leg, but after an accident like that, and 356 stitches, nothing could be pretty.

"He's practically my brother!" Cameron almost screamed, "Of course I'm sure!"

Chase took an automatic step backwards, as if moving out of firing range, seeing the petite female was on the verge of tears, he turned and led the way to Dan's bedside.

Chase had warned her it wouldn't be nice, she was a doctor, she knew it wouldn't be nice, but nothing could have prepared her for the sight of her younger step-brother lying disfigured, hooked up to all sorts of machines, in an uncomfortable and impersonal looking bed. She couldn't take it, her breathing sharpened, and next thing she knew, she was flying to the ground, her head hitting against the bed rail on the way down. She was out-cold.

"Great," said House. "Now we're going to have two vegetables."


	6. Chapter 6

Sorry it's taken me so long people, but I've been away for the week! I've actually posted way ahead of this on another sight, and I'm slowly catching up on here. The thing is, I don't want to just post all the chapters onto here at once, because I fear I will get less reviews (hint hint!), but remember, the more reviews I get, the more inclined I will be to write lots before I go away again. I'm on my summer break, so this is the perfect opportunity for me to write lots, if only I think people want me to.

Enjoy!

Kat x

* * *

Cameron awoke a few hours later, not knowing where she was, everything was dark and blurry and she could hear what sounded like a three-legged person walking around. Her back hurt, but her head was killing her, if only she knew what was going on, she might be able to do something. The tri-pod-person was getting closer, and she was feeling more and more disorientated, a vague memory popped out of the back of her mind, a little town in England being destroyed by three legged aliens. Maybe she was there? But that was a long time ago, and the aliens all died. The thing was getting nearer; she attempted to move away, but ended up rolling sideways, falling, and hitting her head on the ground.

"Do you not like your head or something? Geez Cameron, I swear your trying to do yourself in!"

The voice came through muffled, but there was no mistaking it.

"House?" She asked; had the aliens caught him too?

"That's my name, don't wear it out!"

Now she was definitely confused, a minute ago she'd been lying on an uncomfortable thing, now she was on the floor, House was here, and the alien had disappeared. She opened her eyes slightly wider, and shielded them from the light.

Peering up, she saw House standing over her, cane in hand. So much for an alien.

"You're not an alien!" She said, not really thinking, just speaking.

"My disguise has been foiled!" House exclaimed sarcastically.

"But I feel like I've been lobotomized." She said.

"That's a long word for someone with a concussion."

"I have a concussion?"

"I don't know, couldn't check until you woke up."

"Oh, why was I asleep?"

"Hit your head, got knocked out. Are we done with twenty questions yet?"

"Nope, is Dan OK?"

House stared at her, had she forgotten what had happened? Great, now they'd have to go through the whole ordeal again!

"I know what your thinking, House. I remember what happened, I just want to know if he's OK."

House sighed, he really didn't want to be the one to have to tell her this.

"He's stable, but they don't know if he'll wakeup, and they can't do anything until they find a living relative."

Cameron shook her head confused.

"Aren't I a living relative?"

"According to you; yes. According to the blood I stole from you whilst you were sleeping; no."

Cameron's head still hurt, but she was back to thinking clearly.

"Of course not, we're step-siblings!"

"What happened to not-quite-step-siblings?"

Cameron sighed, she should have known he'd ask, but she didn't really like telling people, it was confusing.

"Basically, my mum and his dad dated/lived together for 30 years, starting when I was 5 and Dan was about 3, they never got married and they've split up and now Dan's dad is dead. I'm the only family he's got."

"Which is where a little legal technicality might come into it."

"Huh?" maybe she wasn't thinking quite clearly.

"Your parents never married, and one of them is dead now anyway. You have no biological connection, and no legal connection to him. All his paperwork is a year or so old, and names his ex-wife as his medical proxy, so unfortunately, you're out."

Cameron closed her eyes in resignation, it made sense, there was no documentation to prove she was any relation to Dan, and since he wasn't waking up any time soon to prove it, she wasn't going to be able to be his proxy.

"Can I see him?" She asked hesitantly.

"I don't know if that's a good idea, maybe you should wait until he's a bit better before you go for another visit, we don't need Cameron brains all over the floor."

She sighed, he knew he was saying it to be nice, but all she wanted was to see Dan, and make sure he got the best treatment possible. The thought of a judge determining what happened to him made her stomach turn, he hated judges, always had. When he was younger he was scared of their wigs and now he was older, he liked to moan about injustice in the system. It was so impersonal too, a cold, impartial couldn't make decisions for someone they didn't know, someone they'd never met. Dan deserved someone who cared about him making his decisions, trying to do what he'd want!

Ignoring House, she heaved herself up from the floor, and wobbled slightly. With one hand on the wall, she made her way to the door, before turning around.

"How did I end up in here?" She asked, one minute she been passed our in the ER, and she had awoken a few hours later in House's office!

"I asked for you to be put in here, it wasn't like you needed an equipment or anything, so I figured that the couch would be fine."

She smiled; he'd wanted to keep her close, to look after her.

"I know that look! I only asked so that I could say I was watching you, whilst watching my soaps."

But she didn't stop smiling.

"I don't believe you! I think you wanted to take care of me!" She taunted him; it was nice to have something to hold over his head.

"Right, this isn't the Sound of Music, Cameron, I'm not Rolf and you're not Liels!"

It was all Cameron could do not to burst out laughing then and there, she'd just woken up on the floor of House's office, thinking about aliens, and now he was comparing them to children from The Sound Of Music? Had someone slipped her something whilst she was out?

"And whether you go or not, I can't let you yet."

Cameron sighed, her giggles had subsided, and annoyance was showing through.

"Is that for a reason?" She asked "Or are you just trying to annoy me?"

"Ummmmmmmm, I'm guessing the right answer is reason?"

She was pretty sure he was just being intentionally annoying, but she knew she couldn't just walk out.

"And what would that reason be?" She asked impatiently.

"I got to check you haven't got a concussion."

Cameron sighed again, it was true, no loophole.

"Fine. But make it quick!"

"Oo a quickie! Me likey!"


	7. Chapter 7

I don't think anyone is reading, but I'll keep updating anyway.

Emjoy!

Cameron spent the next two days at Dan's bedside, even if she couldn't make decisions for him, she couldn't bear to leave him. The hours had past, as had many visits from House and the other Ducklings, telling her to go home and get some rest, but she refused them all. If something happened to him, she'd blame herself for not getting him to sign some sort of legal form in case something like this ever happened. She was the older sibling, it was her duty, and she'd failed him.

Suddenly, she sprung up, and began to race towards House's office, ignoring the strange looks she was getting from passer-bys. Learning from her previous mistakes, she stopped to wait for the lift, unluckily, someone had moved the 'out of order' sign from in front of it, and she waited rather along time before anyone bothered to point it out.

Running up the stairs, she practically fell into House's office, out of breath and clutching her sides.

"I, had, an, idea." She panted.

"You're starting up a new fitness regime?" He guessed.

She shook her head, breathing too hard to speak, and collapsed onto the sofa. She lay there for a while, catching her breath.

"Ready to speak?" House asked a minute or so later.

She sat up and nodded.

"I can't be Dan's proxy, but his ex-wife can!"

House raised his eyebrows.

"That's the great idea? I hate to break it to you Cameron, but they've already asked her."

She sighed exasperatedly, "I know that! But if she's his proxy, she can sign it over, so that I'm his proxy!"

House considered it, it made sense, but the ex-wife had made it perfectly clear she wanted nothing to do with it, and a phone call wasn't going to change that.

But when he said this to his over-excited-bordering-ADHD-duckling, she kept on grinning.

"Pack your bags then. We're going on a road trip!"


	8. Chapter 8

Heloha! I'm very very happy and am updating quickly because my last chapter got 3 reviews!

OK, so this is a short chapter, but I've already written the next one, so the sooner you review, the sooner it get's posted!

Enjoy!

Kat x

She sprinted off again to find out where her not-quite-step-ex-sister-in-law lived. Whoa her family was confusing. The first place she thought to look was to ask Dan, but upon reaching his bed, she remembered that doing that was not a possibility, and if it were, then she wouldn't need to do it in the first place. So instead she asked the nurses who had phoned the ex-wife, for the number.

441483888454.

Weird, it wasn't a typical number.

She scribbled it down on a scrap of paper, and took off, back to House's office with it. She was getting quite a work out today.

Showing it to him frowning, she was surprised to see him chuckle.

"I think your road trip's off!"

Her heart sank, was it a fake number? She so badly wanted to help Dan!

"Why?" She asked, her voice filled with disappointment.

"Well, apparently it's quite hard to drive through the sea!"

Confusion registered on the young doctors face. House sometimes pondered what went on inside her pretty little head, sure she was good at medical stuff, but at life, that was another kettle of fish altogether.

"It's an English number," he explained.

Her drawn, puzzled face relaxed into an easy smile.

"So we'll fly rather than drive. Problem solved. Might need a few extra days though."

House actually found he feeling rather surprised, he had to admit, he didn't think she was that desperate!

"And Cuddy's going to let us, why?" He asked, he didn't really care, but he wanted to see if she was as into it as she seemed, or if she could be easily deterred. She could not.

"You care? And if you do, we'll ask first, she's not heartless."

"Maybe not, but it's certainly doesn't pump blood!"

Cameron just stared at him.

"Right, I'll go ask Cuddy, you find out where the best air port is, for wherever she lives."

"What if Cuddy says no?"

"Then it's too late, we've already booked the tickets."

House stared at her; he was rubbing off on her in more ways than one!


	9. Chapter 9

Finally! It hasn't been letting me upload, so you are waaaaaay behind. Buy enjoy anyway!

Cameron stood at the airport waiting impatiently, luckily she's thought ahead, and collected House's baggage the night before, so she could check them in whilst she waited for him to arrive. Now all she needed was him to appear, and they could move through to the lounge. She'd been there over an hour when he finally did but considering she'd arrived 4 hours before they were due to take off, it didn't really matter. Limping through the doors of the airport, and shaking the rain out of his hair like a dog, he hitched his backpack into a more comfortable position, and walked towards her.

"You're early." For House, this was actually a surprisingly nice greeting.

"You're late." For Cameron, this wasn't such a nice greeting.

"Well sorry! At least I'm not late for work everyday like you!" He mocked.

"Hmmm… memory loss, a side-effect of being a jerk the entire time perhaps?"

House rolled his eyes, he didn't like his ducklings to try and outsmart him, especially not this one, she was meant to look pretty and get annoyed.

"I've checked our bags, ready to go through?" she asked, knowing with every innocent statement she made early in the morning, she was setting herself up for a harsh reply.

"Yes Mum, are you going to hold my hand and take me to the potty too?" he asked.

She rolled her eyes, she loved him, but it was going to be a very long trip.

They reached the boarding lounge with only a few difficulties (House requesting that Cameron escort him into the bathroom every time he saw one, then needing to buy candy from every vending machine, and then arguing with the man at security about whether or not he had to put his cane through the x-ray) and Cameron sat down, ready to read her book and wait to be asked to board. But House had other ideas. Pulling a small bouncy ball out of his pocket, he began to bounce it against the ground, then against the back of the chair in front (receiving evil looks from the woman sitting in it), and then against Cameron's book.

"House! I have to put up with you for a week! So please stop it, or I'll never make it out the country, having been arrested for murdering a cripple with his own cane!" Her shouting caused a few heads to turn, and a few old women clucked disapprovingly, but it stopped House from annoying her. Tapping his cane on the ground, then on Cameron's foot, then the ground, then her foot gave him a distraction for a few minutes, but it annoyed Cameron and she hissed in her ear.

"Go get something to read for the stand! I am not going to put up with you acting like this." She pushed a few dollars into his hand and shoved him away, hoping for a few minutes peace.

So far Dan's condition had not changed, but she wanted to become his proxy as soon as possible, in case something did, but she wanted to enjoy this trip at the same time, and if she had to pay for House's distractions, so be it.

He came back a few minutes later clutching, rather than any form of entertainment, what looked like a lifetime supply of bubble gum.

She frowned, but figured it would be harder for him to talk if his mouth was stuffed full of chewy stuff, and resigned back to her book. He popped a piece of gum into his mouth and chewed obnoxiously loudly, then another and another. He blew a large pink bubble. It popped noisily, and he collected it back into his mouth and blew another one right into his flying companions ear.

"House!" she hissed, "Give me the gum!"

"What's that about a gun?" He asked loudly.

Half the room turned to stair, and a few security guards began to stride towards them. She quickly grabbed a packet and held it up.

"I said gum!" She called desperately, "Nothing to worry about! Just gum!"

People turned away, obviously annoyed by the loud couple disturbing everyone.

Cameron quickly sat back down, blushing furiously, and worked out a plan of action. She put the packet of gum she'd already obtained into her purse and waited for House to look away. A couple of minutes later, he began to rifle through his bag for something, and she used the opportunity to grab a couple more packets and stash them away. Over the next half hour, she managed to scrounge up every piece, except for the ones in his mouth. Tapping him on the shoulder he turned around, pulling out his earphones as he did so. She quickly pulled him in for a kiss, and using her tongue, scooped out the remaining gum.

"Thank you." She said, as she spat it into a trashcan.

House frowned, a reached for another packet, only to find them gone!

"You stole my gum!" He said loudly.

Other passengers began to whisper about the irritating couple again, really, what did they think this was, a social club?

"I did." Cameron replied, "But if you behave well for the rest of the journey, you can have a packet back."

House was horrified; she'd stolen his gum, and now she was using it to blackmail him! He knew he'd regret not bringing any American money with him!

Luckily he did not have to wait much longer without his distractions, as they were called to board.

Knowing it annoyed Cameron; he chose to be a 'loud' passenger as such. He could easily buy more gum once they reached England.

The first thing he did, was to cram everything he could into the overhead locker, knowing full well he'd need it throughout the journey. Then he decided to ask the growing-impatient airhostess lots of pointless questions during her safety talk. And then began to harass her when she couldn't answer the technicalities of exactly how the slides were made so they would automatically inflate, and then detach. Cameron slid low into her seat, and pretended not to exist.

After that he waited until they were in the air, before telling Cameron he needed his vicodin, which were in his bag, in the locker. He continued to complain loudly at her until she undid her seat belt, and got them down for him, consequently being reprimanded by the airhostess 'Molly' for having taken her belt off, whilst the light was still on.

House sat and laughed.

He then waited until the airhostess had gone away again, before pressing the call button.

"Millie," he began.

"Molly," she corrected.

"Of course, Millie, can you get me a glass of water so I can take my tablets?"

She nodded and walked off to get one.

She returned shortly and handed it to him before walking away again. He downed it in one sip, and promptly pressed the button again.

She arrived quickly, but looked slightly less chirpy than she did when they had boarded.

"Yes sir?"

"Great, Millie."

"Molly."

"Of course, Millie, can you direct me to the bathroom, that water's gone straight through me! You know what us old men are like!"

She looked faintly disgusted, but quickly pasted on a fake smile.

"Certainly Sir, the toilets are located just at the back of the cabin, one to either side." She strode away again, but didn't sit, knowing she'd be called again in just a few seconds.

Instead of asking Cameron to move, he stood up, shifted a bit, and sat down on her lap, right on top of her book, then shimmied along to the aisle. He limped up to the queue and stood, banging his cane on the doors alternately, as if it was going to make them empty quicker. It didn't but it did cause the mother in front of him to take her child away muttering that they'd come back once the crazy man was done. Once inside a cubicle, House did his business (washing before and after) and pressed the emergency call button. Within seconds, Molly was outside the door asking what the problem was.

"Great, Millie!" This time she didn't even try to correct him "I appear to be locked in."

She sighed audibly, and went to get the screwdriver that could be used to open the doors from the outside. Whilst she was gone, House quickly unlocked the door, and hobbled back to his seat to watch the excitement commence. Bumping over Cameron, he turned around to look where Molly was staring in confusion at the empty stall.

She marched down the aisle to where House and Cameron were sitting.

"Oh Millie, sorry for any inconvenience, I guess I forgot to unlock the door before I tried to open it!"

Molly sighed and walked away, forgetting her polite formalities.

"House! Do you know how embarrassing you are being?" Cameron was practically seething, they might be 'dating' but this would be so much easier on her own!

So 15 button-presses, a nap, and a scream as they landed, House and Cameron emerged from the aeroplane into Heathrow airport, amused (in House's case), not amused (in Cameron's), and tired (In both).

Finally, they were in England.


	10. Chapter 10

Tenth chapter! Just a little one, but have no fear! Something big is just around the corner!

Enjoy!

xxx

They collected their baggage, (Cameron had to carry House's bag as well as her own, as he claimed his leg hurt to much from being cramped up for so long,) and walked out the revolving doors, into the taxi bay. Cameron frowned.

"Where are all the cabs?" She asked.

"Right here." House replied, gesturing at the line of cars in front of them.

"But they're not black!" House smirked, she could wear her glasses and look smart all she liked, but he was still sure her head was filled with cotton wool.

"Only London taxi-cabs are black, the rest are just normal cars."

Cameron frowned; she'd been looking forward to driving in a black cab.

House knocked on the window of the nearest car, and the driver got out and greeted them, putting their suitcases into the trunk.

"So you on holiday?" He asked as they drove along the M25.

"Of sorts." House replied rudely, he wasn't in the mood to make small talk with the English working class. He never was.

"We're visiting family." Cameron added in to make up for it.

"Oh, I didn't think you were here for the sights." He chuckled to himself, but seeing Cameron's puzzled face he said, "It's not exactly a touristy place, I guess there's a bit that'll you'll know about but not much."

She leaned forward in her seat, this might be the only time she'd come to England and she wanted to really experience it. "Any suggestions?"

He thought for a moment, "It's always worth doing a walking tour, Ian Wakefield does good ones with all the sights to do with 'The War Of The Worlds', this is where it was written and set you know."

House looked slightly interested at this, but pretended not to be.

"And sometimes they allow visitors to look around Mclaren"

House perked up suddenly, "Really? That's near here?"

"Yeah," The driver replied, "This is the home of it!"

"What's Mclaren?" Cameron asked.

"It's a Formula One racing team! We so have to see that!"

Cameron rolled her eyes, this was the only second time she'd seen his look excited about their trip, and the first was when she mentioned that she'd booked them a joint room, which once they'd found Dan's ex-wife, they could spend a lot of time in.

The driver chuckled, he loved giving the tourists information, he'd wanted to be a tour guide, but their really wasn't any need for them here, their was no tourists!

Racking his brain he couldn't think of much else to suggest.

"It's not an attraction, but you might be interested to know that Harry Potter lived in the same county, with his aunt and uncle."

Cameron looked amazed, House rolled his eyes, but deep down, he was growing more and more fond of this little town.

They drove down a road with a big park on one side, and a little pub on the other.

"So where exactly are you staying?" He asked.

Cameron pulled out a folder with all their travel details, passports and insurance in. She consulted a piece of paper.

"The Wheatsheif Inn." She said.

The taxi did a sharp right turn into the pub car park, and drove around the corner of the building, where it parked.

"This is it."

House grinned, "We're staying in a pub? Beer here rules!"

OK, so far he'd been excited by sex, fast cars and beer. Typical.

The driver retrieved their luggage from the trunk, and waited to be paid, it was a long trip from the airport, but the amount he got for it, and the advice he got to give made it worth it. Not to mention the tips from people like Cameron.

They wheeled their bags inside, and House plopped down onto a sofa to wait for Cameron to check in.

She filled in the necessary paperwork, collected their key, and gestured for House to grab the bags and follow. She was amazed when he did.

Unlocking the door she stepped inside dropped everything and jumped on the bed squeeeing. It was a large room, with old-fashioned flowery wallpaper, and wooden furniture, just as she had imagined it would be. Looking out the window, she could see the big park across the road, where some kids appeared to be trying (and failing) to play American Football.

She flopped backwards; she had a week to find the ex-wife, that was plenty of time left over to enjoy herself. But now, she was majorly jet-lagged and wanted to sleep.


	11. Chapter 11

Right, so I've written chapter 12 aswell as this, and if you review, I will update soon, otherwise I tend to forget to do so. Please review, it doesn't take long, and I am truly thankful for everyone I get. They really make my day.

Enjoy!

They both awoke late, hours after the inn had finished serving breakfast, so they decided instead to walk into the town to find food. As it happened they were only 300m or so away from the town centre. That however was the easy part.

They reached the town square and looked around, where could they go to find food? There was a church, a library, a war memorial and a bank.

"This is it?" Sneered House, "I knew this place was small, but people have to eat!"

Cameron rolled her eyes, when his comments weren't directed at her they were actually rather amusing.

They walked a lap of the square, peering out each exit to see if there was any type of restaurant down each one, but all they could see was a rather pathetic little Internet café with just three computers.

Deciding to ask for some directions, Cameron approached the only people around; everyone else was at school or work. Which is where the group of rather rough looking youths should probably have been.

Unfortunately rather than receiving any useful information, she got a few insults, a few suggestive questions, and a lot of words she didn't understand.

"I guess that's what the English mean when they refer to 'chavs'' She said.

"Shizzle." Replied House.

Finally they got directions to the food court from a girl (or they thought it was a girl) with many tattoos and drawn on eyelashes.

Settling down at their table, they ate their sandwiches and viewed the map Cameron had pulled out of her bag.

"Right, she lives here, and we are," She paused and scanned the map, "Here, that's about," she paused again and pulled a ruler out of her bag, she measured the distance between the two places, and checked the scale of the map. She returned the ruler to her nag and withdrew a calculator, she typed in a few numbers "Half a mile or so away, shouldn't take us more than 15 minutes to walk."

And so they finished their food and left.

They passed a playground on the way, it was deserted and Cameron couldn't resist going in to have a go on the swings, she slid onto the seat and kicked her legs on make herself move, she was having problems getting any momentum due to not wanting to flash everyone her underwear, when she felt a pair of strong hands on her back, pushing her forward, she squealed in delight as the wind whipped past her face. Looking behind her she could see House almost smiling!

"Thanks House!" she shouted.

"Hey!" he replied, "Don't go getting ideas about me being nice! I just wanted to see if you'd fall off!"

She laughed and chose to believe her version of the story.

Carrying on a short while later, they managed to loose themselves around a series of twisting roads, but by following the smell from a not to far off fish and chip shop, they found themselves back on a main road again.

Soon enough, they found themselves opposite a pretty little white house.

"This is it." Cameron whispered in anticipation.

"What's this woman's name again?" House asked, he could remember countless amounts of medical jargon, but he never really saw the point of names, they were just meaningless words.

Cameron consulted the piece of paper with the address on and replied "Malekshahi Cameron."

House raised his eyebrows at the name, and Cameron explained, "She was given her mothers maiden name as a first name."

House snorted, "Now there is a set of parents who truly dislike their kid!"

Crossing the road, Cameron stood on the front step, too nervous to bring herself to knock on the door. For all she knew Malekshahi didn't live here anymore, or she was away, if so, they had come all this way for nothing. And even if she was here, she might have been telling the truth when she said she'd wanted nothing to do with Dan, she might not even want to sign the paperwork!

A minute later, she was trying to control her breathing, and working up her courage to knock, when she saw a wooden cane appear over her shoulder, knock on the door, and withdraw again.

Just seconds later the door swung open to reveal a petite brunette woman in a neat blue suit.

She gasped.

"Molly!" gasped Cameron

"Millie!" House mocked.

The young woman looked horrified, she'd been expecting her friends to come round, but instead she'd got the crazy old limping man and his daughter!

"Oh God! What do you want now?"

Cameron went straight into efficient mode.

"Malekshahi Cameron?" she asked.

"Not anymore, it's Malekshahi Strong again now."

Cameron nodded, "I'm sure you remember receiving a call from PPTH, saying that you ex-husband, Dan, was in a coma after being in a car crash?"

Malekshahi replied in the affirmative.

"Well, I know that you said you wanted nothing to do with it, but you see, Dan is my only brother, and I'd really hate for some silly old feud between the two of you ruin his chance of survival. I'm sure you understand what I'm saying."

"Yes, I understand. You've come all this way, so that you and your father can guilt-trip me into coming backk with you to sign legal documents to help a man who I never want to see or hear from again. Not gonna happen!"

A shocked silence fell over the young doctor; she didn't understand why this woman would want her brother to suffer! Before she could think of a reasonable reply, House interrupted.

"If, like you said, I really am her father, then what we did last night, and most nights for that matter, is really, really wrong!"

Now it was Molly's turn to look shocked. Were these people dating? Surely not!

Cameron blushed, and began to speak earnestly, "Look, Molly, I don't know all the ins and outs of your relationship with Dan, and truthfully I don't want to. I just want the best for my brother, and he's not going to get the best if a judge gets to decide what happens to him."

"I get it, but I have a life, and a job, and I'm not going to drop it all for Dan! I did that once, and I regret it, I'm not going to make the same mistake."

"I'm not asking you to, all I'm saying is that he needs a proxy who cares!"

"Well I don't! So please, if you'll excuse me, I'm busy."

Cameron was on the verge of tears, it wasn't meant to be this hard!

"I'm sure somewhere very deep down, you still care!"

Malekshahi snorted, what kind of idealistic world did this woman live in?

"Look, you don't know how Dan treated me, or what he did to me, so I'll decided whether or not I care."

Cameron blinked, no matter what she said, this woman wasn't going to listen, she didn't even understand what she was asking.

"Are you done now?" Molly asked impatiently.

"No, we're not done. So get your head out of your butt and listen." House said angrily, "This woman is not asking much of you, she doesn't want you to drop your life and fly out to Dan, and if you'd given her even the slightest bit of respect and listened to what she was saying, you'd know that. All we need is for you to sign one little piece of paper, and we'll be gone. Forever."

Malekshahi looked deeply offended, no one spoke to her like that!

"Fine." She answered stiffly, "I'll sign your stupid form. But you make sure when he wakes up, Dan knows I did this for me, not for him."

Cameron nodded gratefully, and pulled two sets of legal documents, and a pen out of her bag.

"Just sign here, and here, you get to keep one copy, I'll keep the other, and we'll be on our way," she smiled, trying to make this as easy as possible. She looked at House, to show she was thankful for what he'd done. But his eyes were trained on something inside the house."

"Being an air-stewardess is a full time job, right?" He asked.

She nodded.

"And it pays well?"

She nodded again.

"So there's no need to take up little jobs on the side?"

She shook her head, if she didn't know how desperate this man's girlfriend (as unnatural as that might be) was, she would have slammed the door.

"Do you like to spy on people?"

She shook her head and wished the petite brunet would finish her half of the signing so she could end the grilling.

"Have you been in a relationship since you got divorced?"

She shook her head, wondering briefly where this was going.

"Trying to connect to aliens?"

She shook her head.

"So you don't baby-sit, spy on people or try to pick up alien signals?"

This man was crazier than she had ever imagined, and she shook her head slowly, signing the papers and handing them back to her ex-not-quite-step-sister-in-law.

"Oh."

That was the last word exchanged between the two parties as the door was shut.

They began to walk away and Cameron asked, "What was with all the questions?"

"Oh," House replied, "It was nothing, I just wanted to know why she had a baby monitor in her hall."


	12. Chapter 12

Why is the line not working? It's really annoying me!

Thank you to everyone who replied! Oh wait, that was no one! Guys! I know that people are reading, and I would really appreciate any comments you ahve, good or bad!

I love writing, but it's the reviews that really make it worth it.

Enjoy!

Walking away, Cameron was very quiet. She was deep in thought, and House chose not to disturb her.

Dan and, well, whatever her name really was, had been divorced for just over a year. The baby could easily be his. That meant he had a child he didn't know about. A child he didn't know. A child he may never know if he didn't wake up. Cameron's eyes were moist at the thought of her nephew or niece perhaps never having the chance to meet his/her father!

A lone tear ran down her cheek, it still hadn't really hit her that Dan might not wake up. She might never be able to have a conversation with him again, or go quad biking with him again. They never did finish their movie marathon. She sniffed but was comforted by the warmth of House slipping his arm around her shoulders.

"What happens if Dan doesn't wake up?" Being a doctor, she knew the answer really, she just wanted to hear some re-assuring sugar coated version. One to make her feel better.

"Then someone pulls the plug, and we move into some big 'ole ranch!" It was harsh, but he'd never been one for sugar coating the truth. It made her feel somewhat better, thinking if he could laugh and joke about it, maybe it wasn't inevitable. Maybe Dan would wake up.

The rest of the week seemed to fly by now they had nothing to worry about getting done, and as they waited in the airport Cameron was anxious to be home, and see Dan.

She could see from the look on House's face, he was getting restless, and she now knew that wasn't a good idea. She reached into her bag, and pulled out a small box and handed it to him.

He opened it and looked in, amazed.

"I have wanted this game for so long!" he exclaimed. It was the closest thing to a 'thank' she was going to get.

"I figured it might keep you from being bored and annoying me."

House smirked "Oh I don't know about that…"

Cameron groaned, the trip there had been humiliating enough, she didn't think she could handle a repeat.

"I can think of something that could keep me amused though!" House said, grinning mischievously.

"And what would that be?" Cameron asked, knowing she wasn't going to like him answer.

"Toilet nookie."

"Excuse me?"

"You, me, in the toilet, on the plane. You do that and I keep quiet."

Cameron considered it, knowing what would happen otherwise, it was probably worth it.

"OK."

House looked shocked, he hadn't expected her to agree!

"Not so cool now, are we?" Cameron smiled, it felt good to get one over him.


	13. Chapter 13

I am so sorry for not updating in so long! I just completely lost my muse, and then sort of forgot I even had a fic, and then out of the blue, I suddenly get two reviews, and I'm like 'OMG I need to keep writing.'

So anyway, this evening, I finally write the 14th chapter, come on here to load it up, and realize that I never even loaded the 13th chapter! So here it is\!

Now, i hate to be pushy, but I want 5 reviews before I post the next chapter. I know you guys can do it, we've beaten that limit before, (not on this fic albeit).

This chapter contains very mild sexual references.

Enjoy!

* * *

About an hour into the flight, House started fidgeting, he nudged Cameron, who was reluctant to pay him any attention as she was so stuck into her book, but feared he might embarrass her if she did not.

Turning to him, she asked "What?"

"I'm bored." He replied.

"So watch the film." She suggested.

"I don't wanna!" He often reminded her of her friends 9 year-old son, they had very similar personalities. "I wanna get some toilet nookie!"

"House!" she exclaimed, but luckily no one appeared to have heard him.

"You promised! You go into the toilets, and I'll meet you there in a few minutes. I'll knock three times."

She nodded, as if it was a big hassle, but secretly she was looking forward to it.

Waiting in the toilet, she checked her watch, it had been 5 minutes and House still wasn't there.

Meanwhile, House had picked up his companions book and begun to read. It was some trashy romance novel, typically Cameron, but it was better than nothing. He knew when he suggested it, that his leg wouldn't be up to 'toilet nookie', but the fact Cameron was up for it interested him a lot!

Another 5 minutes past, and Cameron was still waiting, she didn't doubt for a second that House would show after all it was his idea! He always wanted to do it in strange places so this was nothing new.

House was beginning to see a storyline in the book; it was about some nurse falling in love with a doctor. In his experience (from talking to Wilson) this wasn't a problem in real life, but this book didn't seem to agree.

Yet another 5 minutes past and Cameron was getting impatient, but if she left, and he was on his way, she would have to come back again, which would be incredibly suspicious.

House looked at the queue growing outside the toilet, it was at least 6 people long! And the airhostess' were looking on warily. One of them approached. Looking at her badge, he couldn't help but grin.

"Millie?" He asked "Seriously?"

She nodded, her friend had told her about this man, and she was surprised it had taken this long for her to need to speak to him.

"Excuse me sir, but I couldn't help but notice that your flight companion has been away for rather a long time, and is causing congestion in the aisle. Do you know if she's alright?"

House smirked, a plan already formulating in his head. "Yes, she's fine, I thinks she's waiting for me, if you get what I mean!" he winked suggestively, and from the red flush growing across her cheeks, she certainly did know what he meant! She stormed off towards the toilets, and rapped smartly on the door, three times. House's grin grew wider.

He couldn't hear what was going on, but he could see the door being opened, and 'Millie' stepped inside the small cubicle. He wished he could hear what was going on. Cameron stepped out in front of the younger woman, blushing furiously. She was escorted back to her seat, and Millie leaned over, not only giving House a great view down her shirt, but also enabling him to hear her say "I don't know what you were thinking! This is not one of _those_ kind of flights!"

As soon as she had gone, Cameron turned angrily to House, "I only did it because I thought it would stop you embarrassing me! Apparently not!"

House knew if he didn't reason with her now, she'd block him out for the rest of the flight, and that wouldn't be fun!

"I was going to join you! But my leg's playing up, I tried to stand once, and practically fell over, didn't want to collapse mid-nookie!"

He knew she'd never argue with a leg excuse, and she didn't.


	14. Chapter 14

This chapter took me ages, and then, I realized that it wasn't even long!

Anyway, I know I said that I wouldn't post again until I had five reviews, and I only had one, which I must say upset me. But i'm going to suck it up, and move on. No need to be petty.

Anyway, I know I was mean to Cameron in this chapter but I think it makes for good reading.

Now, please, please, please, please reply!

Pwetty pwease?

kat x

* * *

But the trip was far from over; they were just three hours in to the gruelling 8-hour flight! Cameron sat as far down into her seat as she possibly could, and avoided the gaze of anyone who walked past; she knew they had all heard Millie's furious 'whisper'. She wanted nothing more than to fall asleep, and wake up to find that the plane was landing, and she could leave, never to see these people again. But instead she was stuck in a floating tin box, with her supposed 'boyfriend' who was getting more and more annoying by the minute. She put her headphones on, and picked up her book, only to find her page was missing, as was the next one, she flicked through the book, to see that every other page has been mysteriously torn out.

"House-" she began, but was interrupted, as her grinned suspiciously and held out a present for her, a paper chain, she grabbed it out of his hand without looking at it.

"What-" she tried again, but was again, interrupted. This time it was a string of paper dolls.

She shoved it into her bag, now she was getting annoyed.

"Where-" she knew by now she wasn't going to get anywhere, but she couldn't imagine where he had hidden half a book! Then he handed her a little rose out of paper, she was shocked for a moment by the sweet gesture, but upon closer inspection of the gift, her surprise turned to annoyance.

"House! You tore pages out of my book, so you could do origami?" She accused angrily.

"Ooops!" House faked a look of guilt, "I thought you'd finished it!"

She huffed, and turned her back to him. A little while later, he leant towards her, rubbing her back.

"I'm sorry." He whispered.

Cameron was stunned; she thought that she'd never hear those words from him seriously, and when she turned around, she realized that was true. He hadn't been rubbing her back, just taking the opportunity to undo her bra.

"My, my Alison, you're a little eager aren't you?" he quipped.

Reaching behind her she tried to do it back up, and failed. She'd never been good at doing it up without looking. She crossed her arms across her chest, and walked down the aisle to the toilets, where she could take it off and re-do it. Millie looked on suspiciously from the galley.

Inside the confinement of the cubicle, Cameron pulled of her top and twisted her bra round. Turned out House wasn't quite the expert he'd thought, and had managed to tear one of the hooks off. She looked at it carefully, she'd be able to fix it, but it would take a while without the use of her glasses. Holding her top between her teeth (the side looked particularly grotty), she fumbled with the catch. She hadn't realized how long she had been in there until she heard a knock on the door.

"Excuse me, Ma'am, are you OK in there?" It was Millie who, unaware to Cameron, had been asked by House to 'check' on his companion.

"Yeah" Cameron replied, her sounds muffled between her teeth and top.

Millie frowned, there was something not quite right going on it there. She pulled the master key out of her pocket and called

"I'm coming in!"

Unable to stop her, with her mouth full, Cameron stood in horror, as the Stewardess opened the door, and pulled it shut immediately. Cameron knew there was nothing she could do, and had to pull her top back on, sans bra. Then, once again, she had to take the march of shame back to her seat, this time, with a red lacy undergarment clutched in her hand.

"I swear House, when we get back I am quitting my job and never speaking to you again!" She hissed this statement with such venom; House couldn't help but be a little scared of his usually meek underling. He opened his mouth, but she stopped him.

"Don't say anything, I don't want to hear it!"

Even House knew limits, and he knew he couldn't push her any further, leaning back in his seat he sighed, this was going to be one, long journey.


	15. Chapter 15

I've given up wanting reviews, because I like writing, and if no one appreciates my work, then you are all philistines. No offence.

Enjoy!

And if you haven't before, check out some of my past fics!

* * *

Tap.

Tap.

Tap.

She ignored it, it had been two hours since she had angrily reprimanded him, and she was keeping her word, she hadn't spoken to him.

A lot of good it had done though, he just kept tapping her!

Tap.

Tap.

Tap.

She watched as he stretched his arm out and pressed the stewardess call button.

Tap.

Tap.

Tap.

His taps were getting more frequent and harder now.

Tap.

Tap.

Tap.

She had her headphones on, so it was easy to ignore him.

Tap.

Tap.

Tap.

Millie approached, House exchanged a few words with her, and she returned a few minutes later, with two glasses of water. He pulled down his little table and placed one of the cups on it, the other, he drank the majority of, and threw the rest in her face.

She pulled her headphones of angrily, but before she could break her threat of not speaking, he spoke.

"I know I'm not meant to speak, but it's been almost four hours since I had a vicodin."

"And?"

"And I need one." House explained.

Cameron sighed, if he wanted one, he could have one, he didn't need her permission. "And you're telling me this, why?"

Now House sighed, and explained with the air of someone explaining something to a rather slow, yet very impatient child. "And you put them in your handbag so I wouldn't forget them. Now, if you'd rather me just get them…"

She made a noise scarily similar to that of Gollum, and handed them to him.

He smiled and popped a couple in his mouth, crunching loudly.

"Glass of water?" he offered.

She accepted, and poured it over her head. She then returned her headphones to their rightful place on her head, and shut her eyes.

An hour later, and Cameron was still smirking with self-satisfaction at the sight of House squirming uncomfortable in his damp clothing. She shut her eyes and went to sleep.

She woke up to feel the plane descending towards the earth, and at first she panicked, assuming that they were plummeting to their deaths, but upon looking out the window, she saw the welcoming lights of the runway, gleaming through the night.

She and House were allowed off the plane first, she assumed it was partly due to House's leg, and partly due to the cabin crew wanting them off as soon as humanly possible. As they walked together down the aisle (how ironic that seemed now, considering the state her relationship with House was now in), people stared and whispered. She assumed it was because they had all heard her being told of by Millie for her acts of 'indiscretion'.

They hurried through the metal passages joining the plane to the terminal hastily and in silence. Upon reaching passport control House smirked to himself (the reason unknown the Cameron), took his travel documents and made his way to the checkpoint next to hers. She handed her documents in, and watched at the man at the desk examined the photo in her passport.

He looked younger than her, far too young in her opinion to hold such an important position.

He smiled slightly at the picture.

"I'm sorry, but do you have any other photo I.D with you that I could see please?" he asked.

She knew this was not normal procedure but handed her drivers licence over anyway.

He compared the two photos, and looked back up at her face.

"Look, I know the photo's are slightly out of date, but I don't look that different!" she exclaimed after waiting patiently for as long as she could take.

"I know, replied the man, it's just that, well," he hesitated, "In these photos you appear to be woman."

At this he threw his head back and laughed, obviously laughing at something she didn't know about.

"What on earth do you mean?" She demanded angrily.

"Well I don't know about you, but I was always under the impression that only men grew moustaches!" his laughter grew louder and more obnoxious.

She knew instantly what he meant; it was a lame joke, one that her and Dan (her heart twinged uncomfortably at the thought of her not-quite-half-brother) had played on each other many times in their youth.

She could see House chuckling out of the corner of her eye, as she reached into her bag and withdrew a mirror, and a packet of wet-wipes. Looking in her compact she couldn't help but smile just a little, he'd done a good job. Nothing too over-the-top just a small moustache and a uni-brow.

She pulled a wipe from her packet and scrubbed at her face. The pen faded slightly, but did not go. It was obviously a permanent marker.

Seeing the annoyed look on her face, the man behind the desk decided that the joke had gone far enough with him a part of it, and handed back her documents, motioning her past. She grabbed them from his hand, and stormed on angrily.

"I must say, I think I did a good job," House reported.

She scowled, and kept walking.

At the luggage carousel, Cameron received even more strange looks as they stood and waited. How typical, normally Cameron was patient and her bags arrived quickly, but the one time she wanted to get away as fast as she could, they did not arrive. She leaned back against the railings, and watched as mothers steered their young children to avoid passing her, she even heard one rather plum old woman describe her to her even plumper, older husband as 'A scarlet woman', who even used that phrase anymore?

People came, and people left, and the amount of luggage circling the conveyer belt declined, until it was gone, Cameron's being the only one not to arrive. Staring at the ground, she felt tears prick her eyelids. This week had seemed so promising, in her head she's imagine them flying out, getting Molly's signature, spending the rest of the week with House, bonding, getting closer, she'd even considered the possibility that he'd propose (she knew that it was far out, but it was the romantic in her showing through), and then flying home, happy, to find that Dan was on the up.

Instead she'd argued with her ex-not-quite-step-sister-in-law, found out what could possibly be a horrible secret, been humiliated in front of hundreds of people, lost her boyfriend, and now, her luggage to. At this, the tears began to fall freely. She knew that there were small chances of her and House lasting, when they'd gotten together, and now it was over. She knew that those people on the plane would forever remember her as a common slut. She knew that it was unlikely she'd ever get her luggage back. But most of all, she knew it was likely that by the time she got back to the hospital, Dan would already be dead.

She could sense his presence next to her, feel his arms around her, his soft breath on her cheek, and she heard him whisper.

"I thought we could go straight from here to the hospital to see Dan, but I think it's probably a better idea for us to go straight home, and get some food. I'll phone about your luggage tomorrow"

His stubble scratched her skin, in a good way, as he kissed her lightly on the forehead.

And with that none of it mattered. It was his apology, and it stopped her caring about what a bunch of strangers thought, it stopped her caring about the mystery baby, it stopped her caring about lost possessions, all that mattered was her, and him.

And Dan.


End file.
